TONY DANZA!!! This is one of those moments where songwriting, comedy, collaboration, and concerts collide.
This 4.20 Hangar 420 Snohomish and The Soul United Allstars collaborated on a wonderful little experiment. We threw a pop up funky reggae party with just a flat bed, the little PA equipment I rehearse with, and Pat Canavan’s carvings as stage design. Throw in seats as bails of hay, and this moment reminded me of one of the first Staxx Brothers shows, Milfstock in Spring 2003.
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Sure this could have been a bigger show but it was bare bones, extremely affordable, and proof of concept. I was even working that day.
Jeremy From-Steel Beans brought friend Aaron and he helped me get the sound set up as Pat was lifting a carving of a Native American chief on top of Hangar 420’s new glass shop, which is just a fabricated shipping container with an amazing paint job.
Shows are where magic happens and parts of new songs are written and tested, if you’re doing it right. This is a precious moment where this new band played its hour set, nearly right on time, and as folks pled for an encore, we had no more songs prepared from my vast catalog. We have been working for a couple months on nailing this first set that featured Jamaican tunes that are still evolving in the studio, let alone being ready for the stage.
Well when the GM’s proud uncle dropped $100 on stage for us to play on more song, we all looked at Jeremy and he kicked off a song idea we were jamming on at his grandpa’s rehearsal space. The song is called ‘Tony Danza’, and with a few phones we captured new ideas that took the song one step closer to being one of the band’s first signature tunes. When a song already become a highlight as a jam like this, it’s a wrap.
We just gotta put in the work and listen to the crowd. The audience don’t lie. Listen to how I had to ask the audience Alyssa Milano’s name and it came in from collective memory. That should be a comedic device in the tune.
Moments like these and looking back on it with smart phone eyes gives me hope. Sure the sound is blown out. But it’s a party. And those JBL monitors were our mains at Milfstock in O3′ when a couple hundred Moms at WSU descended up on our makeshift hay bail stage and set the party off right. Some of those Mom were my age now.
And that’s great. It’s been a great journey. And the songs are so good. And this new band gives me something I dearly need to succeed.
Hope.
– Musician and writer Davin Michael Stedman has many ventures, such as the AMAZING blog, 100milesofmusic.com. Davin’s new song has become a global earworm and Caribbean dancehall hit. Listen here on Reggaeville: DAVIN MICHAEL STEDMAN & ANTHONY RED ROSE – FREE YOUR MIND FEAT. SLY & ROBBIE WITH LENKY MARSDEN. The video is now available on Youtube: Tuff Gong Television. His single with British band Sherlock Soul is available here.
